Study of the key technologies of LOM for functional metal parts Study of the key technologies of LOM for functional metal parts

To address the problems associated with laminated object manufacturing (LOM) using sheet metal as a modeling material, an approach of cutting the sheet metals by a new LOM process and connecting them by diffusion welding technology is proposed. The conventional LOM process and the new LOM process are compared with reference to the theoretical manufacturing error. A slicing algorithm for the new LOM process has been deduced. The conclusions drawn from the experiments and analysis are shrinkage in the stack direction is small; atom diffusion between two joints occurs clearly and new grains form; the shear strength of the welding zone is above 100 MPa; the micro-hardness of the welding zone is almost the same as that of the substrate. The fabrication of sample part suggests that the new LOM process with diffusion welding could be a useful method for the rapid manufacturing of metal parts.